Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The 2010 annual meeting was held Tuesday July 27 from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM on the campus of the New York Agricultural Research Station in Geneva, NY. Dr. Tom Burr introduced himself as the Administrative Advisor of the NE-09 and Director of the NYSAES. This year the meeting was held in conjunction with the Crop Germplasm Committee chairs and Plant Germplasm Operations Committee meetings. Dr. Burr informed the committee that the budget of $216,320 was approved this past March but mentioned that there are still some states questioning the use of off-the-top funding. He made the suggestion that a member of PGRU attend the NERA Spring Meeting to speak about the germplasm collection and also requested a new impact sheet be prepared for this meeting. Research highlights for NYSAES included two new apple varieties released and licensed by the NY Apple Growers Association. Dr. Darius Swietlik, NAA Area Director welcomed the attendees on behalf of the North Atlantic Area. He mentioned the USDA priority to have all accessions in the germplasm collections to be eventually sequenced. Dr. Peter Bretting, NPL NPGS provided a summary of the NP301 update and provided handouts for this. He also mentioned the importance of the germplasm collections like those maintained at PGRU because of the new treaties on germplasm access. David Ellis gave a brief summary of the activities and research at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) to support the NPGS locations and provide backups for the various collections. Ann Marie Thro reported there is no change in Hatch funds which provide about 10% of the funding for the NPGS Larry Robertson, Gennaro Fazio, Joanne Labate, and Heidi Schwaninger made brief presentations about the activities and research for the past year and referred to the RL report for NE9 for further details. Highlights included the nutritional screening of the tomato and grape collections and the DNA marker diversity research with apple, grape and tomatoes. Majid Foolad, Brent Loy, and Phillip Griffiths briefly discussed their research capitalizing on germplasm from PGRU and other locations in the NPGS. Mark Bridgen made brief presentation on the Cornell Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center and the resources available for research and extension. The suggestion was made that the 2011 meeting be held at the Long Island Horticultural and Research Center at Riverhead, NY. Mark Bridgen, Director of the station, welcomed the suggestion and agreed to host the NE9 meeting for 2011. The meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM and was followed by the joint meeting banquet with the keynote speaker Susan Dworkin presenting "The Metaphor in the Seed Bank: Helping the Public to Understand Agriculture." Members of NE9 attended the joint meeting with the CGC and PGOC groups in the morning of July 28th and attended a tour of PGRU and Cornell University research with vegetable and fruit germplasm in the afternoon of July 28th.

A total of 323 orders for 4,046 seed germplasm samples and 328 orders for 4,490 samples of clonal germplasm were filled for clients and stakeholders in Calendar Year 2009. In 2010, through July 15, there were 228 orders for 2,116 seed germplasm samples and 130 orders for 2,149 samples of clonal germplasm. A large number of these samples were distributed in the northeast. For 2009, 473 seed and 1,385 clonal samples for 56 seed and 109 clonal orders were distributed to users in the states that are part of NE-9. For 2010, through July 15, there were 291 seed and 329 clonal samples for 39 seed and 39 clonal orders distributed to the NE9 region. Most of the samples of the clonal collection were for DNA and leaf samples for DNA extraction, but multiple samples of cuttings, pollen and seeds of wild species were distributed as well. Delivery of germplasm to clients and stakeholders is the primary way in which the results of this Units activities are distributed to the public. Seed regenerations of vegetable Brassicas, tomatoes, wild tomatoes, tomatillos, celery, artichokes, radish, onion, buckwheat, and Cucurbits in 2009 were completed for 218 accessions and 164 accessions were grown for plants to store for seed production in 2010. For 2010, seed regenerations will total 278 accessions and 92 accessions will be grown for plants to store for seed production in 2011. In addition to standard regeneration activity, 12 Allium cepa accessions were sent to Nunhems in Oregon for regeneration. A total of 12,462 accessions of seed-propagated crops were successfully maintained during the past year. The future availability of this germplasm is therefore assured. PGRU has 2,621 accessions maintained as clones in the apple collection. We received: a) 3 new accessions from the APHIS program in Beltsville, b) 1 accession (Frostbite) from the Minnesota breeding program, c) 2 apple scab differential accessions from Herb Aldwinckle that we had not previously established, d) we propagated 111 M. sieversii accessions that represent the core collections. The core collection consists of 258 accessions. In addition, we maintain seven mapping populations (1,345 seedlings, own-rooted) of M. sieversii X Royal Gala. We made excellent progress in pruning the 3,039 wild apple seedlings and the 1,345 seedlings of the mapping populations so that they can be used for efficient evaluation projects over the next 5 years. Approximately 2,800 accessions of Malus are cryogenically backed up at the NCGRP. Some of these are seed lot accessions of the wild Malus spp. collections that are divided between PGRU and NCGRP. Presently 2275 of 2,621 apple cultivars/clones in the main collection are backed up in LN. Approximately 430 scanned and/or digital images were recorded in 2010 from 240 accessions of tomato, onion and winter squash grown for regeneration and trial purposes. There were 353 scanned images recorded in 2009 from 174 accessions of tomato, onion and winter squash. These images are being processed and uploaded to GRIN as they become re-sized and named according to GRIN SOP. Characterization data were recorded on 136 accessions in 2009 and will be conducted on 190 accessions in the 2010 growing season for onion and tomatos minimal descriptor listings. These descriptors will then be uploaded to GRIN to enable stakeholders to better search for their research requirements. In addition to standard characterization and evaluation activity, 51 tomato lines are being grown in Geneva, NY as part of a fruit shape diversity NSF grant awarded to Esther van der Knaap (The Ohio State University). We will evaluate these lines plus 52 PGRU obsolete varieties for fruit nutritional traits and morphology in 2010. Additionally, 25 heirloom tomato accessions were grown out as part of the Peoples Garden Initiative. The entire core collection and 90% of the main collection of Malus has been characterized for priority descriptors with the data loaded to GRIN. We have completed digital imaging of 70% of the collection. We continued our efforts in photo documenting the grape collection. We uploaded last years flower and detached leaf images (1,046 photographic images) into GRIN. We continue imaging flowers in the field with a size standard and we hope to complete the formal imaging of detached leaves on a grid for the main grape repository this year. We choose to display photos of the leaves for ampelographic analysis as opposed to metric analysis. In the fall 2010 we will begin taking formal images on a size grid of fruit clusters, berries, berry cross sections, and seeds. In cooperation with M. McGrath (Cornell University), D. Panthee (NC State University), and D. Francis (The Ohio State University) plants from heirloom and landrace tomato accessions were evaluated in 2009 field trials. Fruit quality components vitamin C, titratable acids, lycopene and soluble solids were assayed on homogenized tissue in collaboration with C.A. Breska, ARS Processed Foods Research, Albany, CA. Plants from the 44 heirloom accessions were phenotypically evaluated in the field. Fruit size, shape and color were analyzed using Tomato Analyzer software. Characterization of this core set of accessions will result in public access to high quality phenotypic data. The characterization of these lines will also contribute to our knowledge of the historical diversity of cultivated tomato and sources of new alleles that can be exploited by breeders. Wild tomato Lycopersicon peruvianum has been reclassified into four new Solanum spp. taxa. We grew 120 PGRU accessions in the field in 2009 and reclassified them using the new taxonomic keys. Leaves, flowers and fruits of all accessions were scanned. The reclassification of wild tomato accessions based on their revised taxonomy will ensure that stakeholders can obtain field-verified material upon request. In 2009 we coordinated phenotypic characterization of tomato accessions with SolCAP (D. Panthee, NC State University and D. Francis, The Ohio State University) and Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group (M. McGrath, Cornell University) projects. Plants from heirloom and landrace tomato accessions were evaluated in field trials in two to three locations. Fruit quality components vitamin C, titratable acids, lycopene and soluble solids were assayed on homogenized tissue. We phenotypically evaluated plants from the 44 heirloom lines. Fruit size, shape and color were analyzed using Tomato Analyzer software. Eighteen heirloom lines are being regenerated in 2010 for addition to the collection (the other 26 were already in the collection). Evaluation of this core set of accessions will result in public access to high quality phenotypic data. The characterization of these lines will also contribute to our knowledge of the historical diversity of cultivated tomato and sources of new alleles that can be exploited by breeders. In collaboration between Ft. Collins and PGRU, ploidy data has been obtained for the Asian Chinese apple species and the main collection. The data show most apple species are diploid; however, some have accessions that are both 2x and 3x, while others such as Malus hupehensis have individuals with ploidies of 2x, 3x, 4x, and 6x. As part of a 2010 Apple CGC grant, Dr. Volk and colleagues are sequencing 6 polymorphic regions of chloroplast DNA and comparing sequence data with phenotypic data to confirm species assignments of Chinese apple species. The chloroplast sequencing project has been expanded to include all Malus species available at the Geneva repository as well as many species in the Maloideae subfamily of Rosaceae. This work is very important for downstream utilization of germplasm as ploidy differences can be a barrier to successful hybridization. In 2009 the apple collection participated in an USDA NRI and industry supported project Functional gene markers for tree fruit texture aimed at characterizing domesticated apple ancestors and Malus sieversii derived populations. PGRU germplasm was included within a wider study involving the nationwide apple industry and breeding stock. PGRU germplasm, unique to our repository, provided critical pedigree connections with modern cultivars that allowed determination of their previous and potential contribution to apple production and helped determine the genetic basis of performance similarities in related cultivars. PGRU participated in multiple facets of this project beginning with the a) performance evaluation for fruit quality and b) DNA evaluation for texture-related genes. Several significant milestones were achieved in the evaluation and characterization of grape germplasm. One significant milestone was the collaborative effort with Dr. Ed Buckler of ARS in discovering and assembling 9,000 SNP markers of Vitis species in the Vitis9K array. The other significant milestone was the collaborative effort with Dr. Lailiang Chen of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY for characterizing 35-50 secondary metabolites across 400 V. vinifera accessions from the Davis repository and 200 wild accessions of mainly native species from the Geneva repository. Tremendous variation of various polyphenolic compounds (anthocyanins, hedroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, and flavonols) was found in the collections. This project will help develop a database of health and nutrition-related metabolites for USDA Vitis germplasm. It will also help develop future research models for integrating germplasm characterization with genetic and gene discovery research. The Organic Seed Partnership (OSP) website continues to be a major source of information for organic farmers with 19,500 hits since its creation in 2002 (originally named the Public Seed Initiative - PSI). This website, which has been viewed by people in over 70 countries, supplies detailed information on seed production, participatory breeding, on-farm commercial variety trials and other related projects throughout the country: www.plbr.cornell.edu/psi. This website contains all the details that the PSI website had plus information about upcoming events, nationwide cooperators, updated news and events occurring around the country, and streaming video detailing on-farm vegetable breeding and seed production: www.organicseedpartnership.org. Currently the OSP website is serving as an umbrella for any/all new organic program grants, including our present Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC) grant. The NOVIC information was added to the OSP website in early 2010 and receives an average of over 100 hits per month from 18 countries.

Baldo, A.M., L.D. Robertson, and J.A. Labate. 2010. Comparing alleles between wild and domesticated tomato, P443. Plant and Animal Genome XVIII, San Diego, CA. Cadle-Davidson, L., Chicoine, D.R., and Consolie, N.C. 2010. Variation within and between Vitis species for foliar resistance to the powdery mildew pathogen Erysiphe necator. Plant Disease, in press. Fazio, G., H.S. Aldwinckle, G.M. Volk, C.M. Richards, W. J. Janisiewicz, and P.L. Forsline. 2009. Progress in evaluating Malus sieversii for disease resistance and horticultural traits. Acta Horticulturae 814:59-66. Jurick II, W.M., R.A. Saftner, W.J. Janisiewicz, I. Vico, P.L. Forsline, and W.S. Conway. 2009. Evaluation of wild apple (Malus sieversii) germplasm from Kazakhstan for resistance to Penicillium expansum and Colletotrichum acuatum. 2009 APS annual meeting Kopsell, D.A., C.E. Sams, D.E. Deyton, K.R. Abney, D.E. Kopsell, and L. Robertson. 2010. Characterization of Nutritionally Important Carotenoids in Bunching Onion Accessions. HortSci 45:463465. Labate, J.A., S.M. Sheffer, T. Balch and L.D. Robertson. 2010. Diversity and population structure in a geographical sample of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) accessions. Crop Science (in press). Labate, J.A., S.M. Sheffer and L.D. Robertson. 2010. Optimized work-flow for assaying tomato fruit quality: Vitamin C, titratable acids, brix and lycopene. Northeastern Branch of Crop, Soil and Agronomy Societies of America 2010 Conference, Ithaca NY. Labate, J.A., L.D. Robertson, and A.M. Baldo. 2009. Multilocus sequence data reveal extensive departures from equilibrium in domesticated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Heredity 103:257-267. Labate, J.A., L.D. Robertson, F. Wu, S.D. Tanksley, and A.M. Baldo. 2009. EST, COSII, and arbitrary gene markers give similar estimates of nucleotide diversity in cultivated tomato (S. lycopersicum L.). Theor Appl Genet 118:10051014. Labate, J.A., L.D. Robertson, and A.M. Baldo. 2009. SNP diversity in cultivated tomato. In Final Program, 2009 Tomato Breeders Roundtable, Sacramento, CA. Myles S, Chia J-M, Hurwitz B, Simon C, Zhong GY, Buckler E, and Ware D. 2010. Rapid Genomic Characterization of the Genus Vitis. PLoS ONE 5: e8219 Richards, C.M., G.M. Volk, P.A. Reeves, A.A. Reilley, A.D. Henk, and P.L. Forsline, and H.S. Aldwinckle. 2009. Selection of stratified core sets representing wild apple (Malus sieversii). J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 134:228-235. Richards, C.M., G.M. Volk, A.A. Reilley, A.D. Henk, D. Lockwood, P.A. Reeves, and P.L. Forsline. 2009. Genetic diversity and population structure in Malus sieversii, a wild progenitor species of domesticated apple. Tree Genetics and Genomics 3:339-347. Robertson, L.D., T. Balch, S.M. Sheffer, and J.A. Labate. 2009. Phenotypic characterization of a diversity panel of tomato. ASA-CSSA-SSSA poster presentation 85-5, Pittsburgh, PA. Volk G., C.M. Richards, A.A. Reilley, A.D. Henk, P.A. Reeves, P.L. Forsline, and H.S. Aldwinckle. 2009. Capturing the diversity of wild Malus orientalis from Georgia, Armenia, Russia and Turkey. Under review. Volk, G., C.M. Richards, A.D. Henk Patrick, A.A. Reilley, D.D. Miller, and P.L. Forsline. 2009. Novel diversity identified in a wild apple population from the Kyrgyzstan. HortScience 44:516-518. Volk, G.M., C.M. Richards and P.L. Forsline. 2009. A comprehensive approach toward conserving Malus germplasm. ISHS symposium on Molecular markers, Corvallis, OR, July 2009. Volk Gayle, C.M. Richards, and P.L. Forsline. 2009. A comprehensive approach toward conserving Malus germplasm. Acta Horticulturae. Under Review